Cambridge scientists make clean fuel from ‘artificial leaves’

A team of scientists from Cambridge has developed floating "artificial leaves" which generate clean fuels from sunlight and water.

The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, took inspiration from photosynthesis – the process by which plants convert sunlight into food – to create the ultra-thin, flexible devices.

The low-cost, autonomous devices are light enough to float on water, and tests on the River Cam have shown they can convert sunlight into fuel as efficiently as plant leaves. As a result, the researchers say artificial leaves could be used to generate a sustainable alternative to petrol without taking up space on land.

According to the University of Cambridge, it is the first time that clean fuel has been generated on water. If scaled up, the artificial leaves could be used on polluted waterways, in ports or even at sea, helping to reduce the global shipping industry’s reliance on fossil fuels.

Despite renewable energy technologies, such as wind and solar, having become significantly cheaper and more accessible in recent years, decarbonising the shipping industry remains a challenge. Around 80% of global trade is transported by cargo ships which are powered by fossil fuels, however the sector has received remarkably little attention when it comes to carbon emissions and the climate crisis. The Cambridge researchers believe their innovation could provide at least part of the solution.

“Artificial leaves could substantially lower the cost of sustainable fuel production, but since they’re both heavy and fragile, they’re difficult to produce at scale and transport,” said Dr Virgil Andrei from Cambridge’s Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, the paper’s co-lead author.

“We wanted to see how far we can trim down the materials these devices use, while not affecting their performance,” said Reisner, who led the research. “If we can trim the materials down far enough that they’re light enough to float, then it opens up whole new ways that these artificial leaves could be used.”

The results are reported in the journal Nature.

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Floating artificial leaf on the River Cam near St John's College, Cambridge. Credit: University of Cambridge